Adrien Mestre was the winner in the Open Pro category and Pawel Tarnowski rose to the top of the podium in IQ Foil. This test is the only ultra marathon regatta in the world
This weekend the III Lanzarote Foil Challenge was held, a foil windsurfing event that once again was a real challenge for the brave riders. In two exciting days, the talented sailors took advantage of the favorable wind to rise on the boards, reaching astonishing speeds of up to 30 knots as they crossed the waters of the island’s coast.
This edition, marked by unstable weather conditions, led to a unique decision by the organization: to extend the competition to two days, Thursday, November 30 and Saturday, December 2. A challenge overcome with more than 200 kilometers traveled, establishing the Lanzarote Foil Challenge as the only ultra marathon regatta in the world!
The windsurfers competed in various categories, from women’s and men’s Open Pro to IQ Foil, Local and Kite Foil. On Thursday, the action started from Marina Rubicón, passing through the Pechiguera Lighthouse until it reached La Santa and finally Famara around 2:30 p.m.
In the exciting Open Pro category, the German Nico Prien and the Frenchman Adrien Mestre tied on points, closely followed by the Swede Hugo Sjöberg. In IQFoil, Poland’s Pawel Tarnowski stood out as the first to reach the finish line, followed by Michal Polak and Hungary’s Máté Bors.
On Saturday, the competition restarted from the unique coastal village of Famara with bigger waves than expected, adding an extra challenge. The island of La Graciosa saw Adrien Mestre dominate, while the final stretch to Costa Teguise saw Michal Polak take the lead, consolidating his position as the winner at the finish in Marina Rubicón.
The final rankings featured Adrien Mestre in Open Pro, Pawel Tarnowski in IQ Foil, and Marion Mortefon in Open Foil, who along with Anastasiya Valkevich, were the only women to compete, managing to finish successfully.
After crossing the finish line, Tarnowski remarked: ‘It was a great finish, actually I would say it was a photo-finish. It was super fun because we were all so close at the end. It’s super cool how long the heats of each race can be and at the end how close we can finish. It was a really nice experience to race around this beautiful island. It was a great experience to participate in this event. Thank you.’
Mestre stated that ‘they broke the course record because they were running most of the time in a straight line. So it was really fast and fun. The rider reached 29 points, almost 30 knots.
For his part, Michal Polak declared that they had “enjoyed very good conditions, which were very variable but great fun.” It was the Polish athlete’s first experience in the event, and he won some stages, so “it was a nice experience.”
In the Local category, the performances of Federico Morales, Rafael Lasso and Rafael Ortega must be recognised, who all completed the regatta. And we mustn’t overlook the efforts of the young Italian talents Luca Conforti and Diego Gargallo, who both expressed their delight at overcoming the challenge!
